Black Roses for my Valentine
by the Raven of Roses
Summary: johnny didnt know it was valentines day. not until just before. time has a funny way of slipping away from you like that.
1. Five Minutes

2-13-06

_It's funny how time can just slip right past you. How days can turn into weeks and months and years without you ever realizing it. The hours escape your feeble grip and are lost to the abyss of the past. And before you know it, you've gotten older._

Johnny closed his die-ary and sighed. Another year, another Valentine's Day was upon him. These days, it was enough to throw him back down the slippery slope of depression. Well, it would be, if he cared enough to be depressed.

These days, nothing really seemed to matter. Johnny hadn't killed anyone in weeks, hadn't been out of his house in months, and hadn't had a civil conversation with another human being for what seemed like years. It was just the endless cycle of day and night, broken only by the brief moments when he mustered up enough strength to eat or sleep. Nothing to relieve the monotony.

The book fit neatly into the only spot on his ancient wooden desk not covered in a few inches of dust. Johnny almost found himself laughing at the absurdity of it. But the noise died on its way to his throat, just like every other sound.

Johnny rose. The grate of bone on bone assaulted his ears, the only hint of noise in the house. He stretched, and the sound intensified. He was getting old.

Even that didn't give cause for sorrow. Whatever shreds of soul that he once possessed were gone, deadened by years of insanity and blood.

Tomorrow was Valentine's Day.

Johnny glanced at the clock, wondering if its battery had run out by now. It showed about five minutes to midnight. So Valentine's Day would technically be starting in five minutes. He rubbed at his temples, trying in vain to drive away the dull ache that had plagued his skull for days.

Four minutes. Where had those sixty seconds gone? Johnny shuddered, feeling the twinge of something alien, but familiar.

Two minutes. Another one-hundred twenty seconds gone. It was worse when he knew what time it was. It only added to the fear.

Thirty more seconds gone. Johnny stood before the clock, eyes fixed on the slowly moving hands. He hadn't blinked in awhile. But he was afraid that if he shut his eyes, more time would creep by him.

One minute. What was going on? Here he was, counting down the seconds until Valentine's Day, a holiday that he supposedly didn't care about. The hands kept moving, ticking inexorably to midnight.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Suddenly, twelve thunderingly loud chimes rang out, piercing Johnny's ears and mind. He jumped, forced to glance away from the clock, and stumbled over a chair he hadn't seen before.

Valentine's day. Already fifteen seconds in. Johnny slumped to the ground, laughing. Fifteen seconds in. Just under twenty-four hours to go.

Thirty seconds later, he lost consciousness.

-Z?-

Sometime around four in the afternoon, the phone rang. Johnny started awake, tipping the chair he'd tripped over hours before onto his stomach. He cursed and stood, fully comprehending what he was hearing on the fourth ring.

"Shit," he breathed, stumbling toward the doorway. "Where's the phone?"

Beneath a pile of torn books, it turned out. Johnny picked up the receiver with a trembling hand.

"…hello?"

"Hello?" a small child's voice squeaked. "Mr. Scary Neighbor Man?"

"Oh. Um. Hi, Squee." Johnny's demeanor brightened noticeably. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Um. My mommy and daddy say they're going to be leaving for a few days. They didn't say I needed a babysitter, but I think maybe I should stay somewhere else. And Pepito's house is scary." Squee paused. "So. Um. I thought maybe I could…"

Play babysitter to Squee? Well, it beat staring at the wall until he passed out again.

"Sure. You can go ahead and get some things together." Johnny looked around, wondering if he'd have enough time to clean up the bodies. "Give me ten minutes though, okay? I, uh, haven't cleaned the house in awhile."

"Oh. Okay." Squee trembled audibly. "I won't get eaten on the way over, will I?"

"You'll be fine, Squee," sighed Johnny, nudging a decaying leg into an overturned garbage can. "I've got to go now. See you in ten minutes."

Johnny dropped the receiver back onto its cradle and kicked a severed head into the basement. He'd take care of it later.

Ten minutes passed, and just as Johnny threw the last of the visible cadaver bits into the basement, the doorbell rang. Apparently, the asshole hooked up to it had died, since the only sound was a dull crackle. Johnny wrenched open the door, grimacing at the loud creaking of unoiled hinges.

"H-hi," stammered Squee, shaking visibly. "I'm sorry I bothered you. It's Valentine's Day. You probably had something planned."

"Actually, I didn't even remember it was Valentine's day until five minutes before midnight," muttered Johnny, closing the door behind Squee.

"Oh." Squee rummaged through his bag, pulling out a crinkled piece of paper. "Well, I thought maybe you'd like a card. Since you don't really talk to people."

He handed Johnny the paper, which he recognized as a handmade card. It was crudely fashioned, to be sure, but he could tell Squee had invested some time in it. He smiled, or rather tried to, and tucked the card into his pocket. It was the thought that counted, after all.

"Didn't your class celebrate Valentine's Day?" he asked, glancing around to make sure he hadn't missed any severed limbs.

"Well, yeah. But nobody gave me cards." Squee's eyes filled. "The other kids got a lot, but they wouldn't even share any candy with me."

A familiar feeling burned in Johnny's chest. He grinned.

"Hey, Squee, how about we pay a visit to the kids from your skool?" he asked, digging a knife out of a drawer.

Squee's heart just about stopped, but somewhere in his mind, a little voice made him say something he never thought he would.

"Okay. Let's go."

author's note: yo. its been awhile. i plan on having at least one more chappie to this fic, so no worries. unless you hated it, that is. then go ahead and worry. hmm. valentines day is tonorrow. >. ah well. i can get some decent protesting in, anyway. erm. where was i? ah yes. what exactly will nny have in store for the little asswipes in squee's class? just wait and see.


	2. Revenge

Almost immediately after getting into Johnny's car, Squee felt like running far, far away. But Johnny got in and started the car, and before Squee could dive out, they were off.

"Where's this skool of yours?" asked Johnny a few minutes later, after running down a random jaywalker.

"Um. It's that way," stammered Squee, pointing backward. "It's by the park."

"Oh, _that's_ where you go to skool?" Johnny abruptly made a U-turn, slamming into a stop sign in the process. "I thought you were out of there by now."

"Nope. One more year." Squee found himself smiling. "And my teacher can't follow me anymore. They won't let her move up another grade cuz she needs to traumatize the first-graders or something like that."

"Sounds just like the education system," sighed Johnny, flooring it.

Many children frolicked in the park near the skool, laughing and playing with each other under the watchful eyes of birds and a lone elder sister. Johnny glanced at Squee as he parked the car nonchalantly on the sidewalk.

Poor Squee. His shuddering was enough to make the car shake. Johnny felt a small pang of pity for the boy, but even that was soon swallowed up in the thrill of the "hunt." He opened the car door and stepped out into the bright sunlight, eyes narrowed against the glare.

"See any of them, Squee?" he murmured, surveying the park.

Squee considered not telling him. But that would only result in more death and destruction. He'd already sealed his classmates' fate, so why not make it as easy on himself as possible?

"Those two boys in the sandbox called me a freak and pushed me in the hall," he muttered, eyes downcast.

"Well. Let's go have a chat with them."

Johnny dragged Squee to the sandbox. His shadow loomed over the two boys, and they glanced up. Hate registered on their faces, barely masking fear.

"Who're you?' one of them snorted, dumping a pail of sand onto an already tall mound. "And why'd you bring the retard with you? You his dad or something?"

Johnny smiled scarily. The boys' smirks fell from their faces.

"No. But I'm a concerned adult, and Squee here told me that you and the other kids haven't been too nice to him. Is this true?"

"Uh." The other boy paused. "Um. We accidentally pushed him in the hall…"

"Good enough," cackled Johnny, pulling out a knife.

Squee looked down, afraid to watch. Screams and thuds pierced the air. A spray of blood hit the ground inches away from his shoe. More screaming, and what looked like a spleen splattered on the sidewalk near Johnny's car.

Squee looked up in time to see Johnny tearing someone's throat out with a plastic shovel. He didn't recognize the person; Johnny had already marred their face too much to tell. Squee cringed, dodging a fleeing child.

"Squee, get in the car!" called Johnny, grinning through the bloodspray. "I hear sirens. We'll have to get out of here fast!"

Squee climbed into the car, trembling. He wiped the blood off of his forehead and hugged his knees to his chest. _Happy place,_ he thought. _I'm in my happy place…_

"Hey, Squee."

Squee jumped, hitting his head on the window of the car door. He yelped in pain, rubbing at his head. When he finally looked up, a pair of oversized black boots greeted him. He sat up, and the sharp-featured face of a reclusive artist came into view.

"Oh. Hi, Devi," he muttered, face reddening. "What're you doing here?"

"I heard the screaming and figured I'd take a look." She picked at a splotch of dried paint on her shirt. "And then I spotted you. Something wrong? You're a little more jumpy than usual."

"Oh. Um. Nny was 'helping me' take care of my social problems," Squee answered.

"I thought so." Devi smiled and moved to the back seat. "What brings you into his company?"

Devi, after a year or so of being a hermitess, had suddenly undergone a complete change of attitude. She'd started wandering around the city during the day, and ultimately, she'd come across Squee one day when he was walking home from skool. The two struck up a conversation, and by that time, she and Squee were good friends.

"My parents went out for Valentine's Day," mumbled Squee, looking down at his hands. "And I needed a babysitter. You weren't home, so I called Nny."

"I'm sorry, Squee." Devi cringed at a particulary loud scream—Nny had apparently started in on the policemen who arrived at the scene. "I could take you instead, you know."

"No, I'll be fine."

The car door opened, and Johnny dove in. He started the engine and had floored it before he noticed the extra passenger.

"Oh. Shit."

He slammed on the brakes, sending Squee flying forward. If he hadn't grabbed onto the back of the seat, Squee would have hit the windshield.

"Who said you could be here?" snapped Johnny.

"Sorry. I was going to tell you I was here," breezed Devi, "but you floored it before I could say anything."

"Get out. Now."

Devi shrugged. "Fine. Bye, Squee. Have fun."

She'd barely closed the door when Nny floored it again.

---

author's note: heh. i failed to finish this fic on valentines day. ah well. enjoy what i have so far, adn i hope i manage to finish this sometime in the next couple days--its gonna get hectic, what with the skoolwork i need to catch up on. >. whatever. au revoir, mes amis, and until next time, carpe noctem!


	3. Deja Vu

"I thought you liked Devi," mumbled Squee, eyes downcast.

"Shut up." Johnny's eyes glinted dangerously. "I don't want to be reminded of that today."

"Because it's Valentine's Day?"

"If you won't be quiet, I can have you expelled from the car," snarled Johnny, slamming on the accelerator even harder.

"Sorry."

Squee buckled his seatbelt, shivering once more. His mind wandered, a defense mechanism built up from years of neglect, and he found himself at Devi's apartment two months prior.

_"Johnny said you were scared of him," mumbled Squee, finishing the scales on a painting of a monster._

_"Well, I was," sighed Devi, mixing some red paint, "but awhile ago, I just thought 'fuck it' and decided to get over it. After all, the chances of him bothering me again are just about nil."_

_Squee mulled it over, capping the paints he had used and setting down his brushes. Well, technically, all the stuff was Devi's, but she always let him use what she considered to be "his set" of paints. Squee had quite a talent for painting, at least for a beginner._

_"Does he ever talk about me?" asked Devi, staring at her own painting, a dark scene full of shadowy monsters._

_"Not as much as he used to," admitted Squee. "But he feels bad about what happened, I think. He never says it, but I think he still kind of likes you."_

_"I never thought I'd see the day when I asked a grade-skool kid for advice on my love life," Devi laughed, the light not quite reaching her eyes, "but do you think I'd still have a chance?"_

_"Probably not. I think Nny's the one who's scared."_

"Are you listening to me?"

"What? Oh. Um." Squee hugged his knees to his chest. "Sorry."

Johnny looked mildly annoyed, but the irritation faded as he started talking again.

"I was saying that you probably hadn't eaten in awhile. Care to stop for food somewhere?"

"Okay."

Silence filled the car for the next ten minutes. Johnny eased up on the accelerator, peering at the signs over shops and restaurants as they made their way downtown. Spotting a taco hell, he slammed on the brakes and brought the car to rest half an inch from the curb.

Without a word, Johnny opened the car door and climbed out. Squee nervously followed suit, hoping that no one would pick a fight with his chaperone.

"Who let out the crazies?" sniggered a teenager as Johnny and Squee walked into the restaurant.

"Somebody call the funny farm," laughed the boy's friend. "Some of the inmates escaped again."

_Great,_ thought Squee, burying his head in his hands. _Two seconds in, and already somebody's going to get killed._

"Excuse me?" hissed Johnny, turning to face the group of kids. "What did you say?"

"Nothin, man, just that you look like some kinda psycho," sniggered the first boy.

"Stop it," muttered Squee, glancing fearfully between Nny and the boys.

"Keep your nose out of it, pipsqueak," snarled the second boy.

"Die," growled Nny, staking both boys simultaneously with their own tacos.

"Here we go again," sighed Squee, making his way to the counter. "Um. I'd like three tacos and two medium sodas, please."

The young woman behind the counter handed him the food and sprinted for the exit. Squee sat down and began eating, trying his best to ignore the bloodshed behind him.

"Hello again."

Devi sat down across from Squee. Squee offered her the other soda, which she gratefully accepted. Devi glanced at Johnny, and her expression changed to disgusted amusement.

"He doesn't change at all, does he?" she laughed humorlessly.

"No, not really," admitted Squee, finally looking at Nny.

Johnny finally noticed Devi's presence and made his way back over the impromptu battlefield.

"Stop following me," he snapped, sitting next to Squee.

"I can't help it if this is the only good taco place in the city," Devi pointed out, taking a taco from the tray.

"I don't want you here."

"Why not? Afraid you'll screw up again?"

Johnny glanced sharply at Devi, who was taking a bite out of the taco.

"I thought we really got along well, up until the whole trying-to-kill-me thing. Don't you think it's about time to stop running away?"

"I'm not running."

_Great comeback, Nny,_ he thought disgustedly. _What next? A happy ending?_

"Um. If you want me to, I can go into the arcade next door…" mumbled Squee.

"That won't be necessary," announced Devi. "I was just about to leave."

She stood and headed for the door.

"You're not worth chasing anymore, Johnny."

-Z?-

Author's note: sorry about the wait. >. ffn wouldnt let me upload this til just now. hopefully ill wrap this up next chapter, but you never know...


	4. Underage Driver

For the first time in a long time, Johnny felt sick to his stomach. Something alien stirred in his chest, and suddenly he didn't much feel like staying in the restaurant.

"We're leaving," was all he said before he started off for the door.

"But—" Squee sighed and followed him to the car.

_What's wrong with me?_ Johnny wondered sickly, bringing his trembling fingers to the ignition. He realized with a start that the keys were not yet in, and he fumbled for them in his pockets for awhile. Squee picked them up from the dashboard and handed them to him. Finally, Johnny started the car.

The ugly feelings worsened as time went by. At first, Johnny had assumed that they would go away after a quiet drive, but the silence only provided a blank slate for his thoughts to mangle with all sorts of unwanted things. Things like guilt.

_"You're not worth chasing anymore."_ What did Devi mean? To Johnny's knowledge, she hadn't been chasing him. The two had enjoyed—though that was definitely the wrong word—an uneasy truce, a distance that they both seemed content with.

Apparently, Devi had been harboring some kind of desire to patch things up. Unbeknownst to Johnny, she had been "chasing" him, attempting to make things right. Hoping for a second chance.

Johnny laughed quietly in spite of himself. Like _that_ was going to happen anytime soon. Devi must be crazy to think it could work.

"Um…Nny," mumbled Squee. "Nny. NNY. WATCH OUT, IDIOT!"

Johnny snapped out of his reverie just in time to avoid crashing into a tree. He muttered an apology and got the car back onto the road—500 yards back.

"Do you want me to drive?" asked Squee, shrinking back into the seat.

"You're what, ten?" snorted Nny. "I don't think so."

"And you almost drove into a tree," Squee pointed out, sitting up a little straighter.

"You know how to drive?"

"Since I was six."

Johnny stopped the car, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and handed them to Squee.

"Go ahead," he muttered darkly, opening the car door and stepping out. "It'd be one less thing for me to worry about."

Squee moved over to the driver's side and started the car. Johnny fought back laughter and reentered the car on the passengers side.

Amazingly, fifteen minutes and two close calls with the police later, the car rolled to a stop in Johnny's driveway.

"Holy shit," chuckled Johnny, getting out of the car and taking the keys back. "I think you drive better than I do."

"Dad made me drive a lot when I was little," Squee mumbled, eyes downcast. "Like when I broke my arm and had to get to the hospital. I kinda picked it up after the first few crashes."

The sick feelings started to subside. Johnny took in an experimental breath of air and upon deciding that it was indeed safe to process, exhaled.

"Are you avoiding Devi?" asked Squee just after they'd gotten inside the house.

Every shred of peace Johnny felt at that moment suddenly deserted him. He glared at Squee, who shrank away from him.

"I'm not avoiding her," he hissed, driving Squee farther away. "She's just stalking me."

"Not really," muttered Squee, astonished as Nny was at his bravery. "It's not like you're unpredictable or anything. Maybe she just wants to talk to you."

"Squee, I agreed to babysit you, but I never promised to return you in one piece." Nny's eyes flashed dangerously. "I like you. Don't make me hurt you."

Squee fled, and Johnny made no attempt to pursue him.

_Z?_

a/n: ello again. sorry for the wait. >. skool and the such. more to come, heh. enjoy, mes amis, and bonsoir.

-raven


	5. Hallucinations and Mediation

The sun must have set by now. Squee curled into a tighter ball somewhere in the cavernous basement, shuddering violently. Nothing ever changed. Once again, Squee shivered in some dank corner, terrified out of his mind. Weak thing he was, he couldn't find it in himself to do anything about it.

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and stood up. Where was he, anyway? Squee's mind dimly registered something, but he was too preoccupied with his surroundings to notice. Rusted machines of a dubious nature littered the ground, chains and spikes hung from the ceiling. He let out a small "squee!" of terror and began to run.

_Z?_

"Dammit, where is he?" growled Nny, forcing open another door in his basement. "I should have locked the fucking door. Now he's lost in here."

He went on muttering to himself and shone a flashlight around the darkened room. Nothing there but corpses. Well, that was another level down. Squee must have gotten to the really old areas. Not good.

_Z?_

Squee stumbled over something and went flying. His head came to rest inches from a yellowed skull. A scream brought a shower of earth down upon him, and he stood and ran before the cave-in could trap him with the skeleton.

Stairs! He climbed them, sobbing in relief. Until his head hit an unyielding trapdoor. His sobs changed to shrieks of hysteria, and he beat his fists on the rotted wood until they bled.

_Z?_

"Squee?"

Johnny strained to make out the source of the pitiful squeaking sounds that had just started up. His hands brushed rotted limbs and crumbling machinery as he sought out the hidden door in the floorboards. He must be under there.

Suddenly, the latch popped up, and the trapdoor swung open. Squee's consciousness failed him, and Nny drew him up out of the hole before he could fall down the stairs.

"Shit. Why did you have to come down here?" he sighed, hefting the boy over his shoulder and starting on the long climb up.

_Z?_

"Um…Devi?"

"Nny!" Devi held the phone away from her ear and stared at it incredulously before speaking again. "Why are you calling me? On my _cell?_"

"I've got a bit of a problem."

"Well…yeah. You kill people. On a regular basis."

"I mean besides that! Squee got into my basement."

"Not good."

"Exactly. And now he's having hallucinations or something." A small pause, then "Oh. Nevermind. Now he's just shivering in a corner."

Devi sighed and capped her paints.

"I'll be right over. Does this mean you're going to consider—"

"Look. I just want to make sure Squee doesn't do something stupid. And I figure you have more of a calming effect on him than I do."

"Fine, fine. I'll be there in five minutes."

Devi hung up and put the finishing touches on a painting. Two minutes later, she began the walk to Nny's place.

Hell, it was faster than driving.

_Z?_

_Squee's mind threw terrifying visions at his madly rolling eyes. He shuddered violently and let out a choking scream. Dimly, he registered two figures moving toward him that may or may not have been part of the hallucinations._

_Then they got closer to him, and he screamed louder. Their faces, rotted and warped beyond recognition, somehow reminded him of his parents. They reached out to him with clawed hands, the flesh stripped off of the razor-sharp bone. He tried to run, but he found himself backed into a corner. _

_In the midst of his hysteria, one coherent thought made itself known to Squee:_

_**Fight or Flight.**_

"What the hell, Squee?" snarled Johnny, dodging another wild kick. "It's just us!"

"Shut up, Nny," snapped Devi, edging her way toward the boy. "You're not going to make this any better by yelling at the poor kid."

Carefully, Devi approached Squee, murmuring soft words to him. He glanced at her, his gaze unfocused, and started to flail again. Then something registered in his mind, and he quieted.

"Squee?" Devi reached out a hand to him, and he pulled away. "Sorry. Are you there, Squee?"

He stared at her again, still unseeing.

"Okay. Calm down, Squee. Everything is alright now."

Squee shuddered, but didn't strike out. Devi sighed in relief and put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, but didn't cringe away.

"Squee, I want you to try and get out of those hallucinations. That's all they are, you know. Hallucinations." Devi took a deep breath. "Squee? Just follow my voice. Keep following my voice, and I'll lead you back here."

"What a load of bullshit," snorted Johnny, leaning against the wall.

"Shut up!" hissed Devi. "I'm mediating, here!"

Squee started, and with a yelp of surprise, Devi stumbled backward. Squee's eyes came back into focus, and he took in a deep gasp of air.

"What happened?" he asked in a very small voice.

"Um." Devi glanced at Nny. "From what I understand, you accidentally found your way into Nny's basement, and it shocked you into a stint of violent hallucinations."

"Oh." Squee blushed. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Squee," laughed Devi. "We're just glad you're okay."

Johnny rolled his eyes. Devi caught him and gave him a swift elbow in the ribs. He glared at her, but didn't say anything.

"Um. What time is it?" asked Squee, glancing around.

Devi checked her watch.

"Close to 9pm. Why?"

"No reason." Squee stood and brushed the dirt off of his clothes. "I didn't know Nny would let you in his house."

Devi smiled.

"Only when somebody is in immediate danger."

"Or when stupid kids go poking into things they shouldn't and send themselves into convulsions," growled Nny.

"Like I said, only when somebody we like is in immediate danger," reaffirmed Devi, glancing at her nails.

-------

a/n: ello, mes amis. sorry for the lag in updating. i feel almost silly now, writing this almost a month after valentines day. ah well. devi is now in nnys house! dun, dun, DUN!shiftplus1 what now? dont ask me, i have no idea. well see what happens, eh?

-raven-chan


	6. Scissorhands

Squee and Devi sat in the living room for the next few hours, talking and watching movies. Turned out Johnny was something of a film buff. They were halfway through a black-and-white drama (French with English subtitles) when they realized Nny had disappeared somewhere. Quite frankly, neither of them cared to go looking for him.

Without warning, there came a knock at the door. Squee jumped, falling off of the couch. Devi turned off the DVD player and got up to see who was there.

"Hi. I think we misplaced somebody," slurred a bearded man, leaning heavily on the doorframe.

"Um. Hi." Devi glanced back into the house. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I think…uh…who'd we leave again?" The man turned to an unseen person. "Honey, who'd we—"

"Some kid," called a female voice. "Real short and screams a lot."

"Oh. You're Squee's parents," sighed Devi. "You sure you want him to go home now?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I think."

Squee hid behind Devi, just barely peeking through the crook of her arm. His father spotted him and made a clumsy lunge for him. Squee squeaked in terror and fled into the living room.

"What's going on?" snapped Johnny, appearing in time to barely avoid colliding with Squee. "Why's he so—what the hell are _they_ doing here?"

"Apparently, they'd like their son back," sighed Devi. "But they look kind of unstable. Think we should release him into their custody?"

Johnny surveyed Squee's parents with open disdain.

"Let him go with _them?_ I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid."

And with that parting statement, Nny kicked the door closed.

"Thank you," mumbled Squee after his father quit pounding on the door. "Are they gone now?"

Devi peered through an opening in the boarded-up window.

"Yeah, they're gone," she snorted. "Your dad just ran into the mailbox."

Squee giggled in spite of himself. He caught Nny out of the corner of his eye giving a small grin. Devi laughed loudly at some new idiocy that Squee's parents committed, and Squee's spirits lifted instantly.

"Now what do we do?" asked Nny, leaning against the door.

"I vote we go watch more movies," Devi announced, moving toward the living room.

"What do you think, Squee?" Johnny glanced at him. "Movies?"

"Sounds good."

_-Z?_-

Johnny stared intently at the clock on the wall. Its ancient pendulum swung creakily back and forth, counting the seconds very audibly. Eleven-thirty pm. Only half an hour left to Valentines Day. A strange feeling of relief mixed with regret washed over him, and he hugged his knees to his chest as if to block it out.

So much had happened since Squee's parents left. Twenty minutes had elapsed, but it seemed like longer. Squee somehow found an unpopped bag of popcorn and prepared it. Devi dug out Nny's copy of Edward Scissorhands, and the subsequent argument put another hole in the wall above the television.

They ended up watching the movie, by the way. Still staring at the clock, Johnny missed Edward's rather unfortunate introduction to the character of Kim. He actually tuned out the screaming until Devi poked him and brought his attention back to the screen.

Devi. Why did she chase him so? The very idea of her being so…aggressive with him warranted a fair amount of concern. Perhaps she was going through that "midlife crisis" thing a bit early and felt like she needed to make amends with people.

Or something to that effect.

"Nny, pay attention!" Devi poked him harder.

Johnny resisted the urge to disembowel Devi. Instead, he hugged his knees to his chest, fingernails cutting through the fabric covering his legs. Devi didn't notice—or just didn't care—as her gaze was focused once more on the television.

Eleven forty-five.

-----

A/N: again, sorry about the shortness of the chappie. >. i havent had too much time to write lately. i promise things will finish up soon. after all, theres only 15 minutes left of v-day. lol.

(btw, im starting a lot of new writing--serious writing, though, so i wont be posting it here--so i may not be able to update for a bit. one of my new friends is giving me many ideas--though most are unintentional, i imagine. sigh ah, the curse of the writer...)


	7. Atonement

Devi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He wasn't paying attention to her, having finally settled his gaze on the movie. She watched his dark eyes flicker back and forth when a character spoke, barely saw his chest moving as he breathed.

Why the hell was he so wary around her? It wasn't Devi who pulled out the knives on their date. Their ill-fated date so long ago. Was it remorse? Or was he simply afraid that she would try to exact some revenge for the months she spent locked in her apartment, terrified of everyone and everything that crossed her path? Only one person knew the answer to that question, and he refused to talk.

Still, perhaps she should try to talk to him. It was already 11:50, ten minutes until the end of Valentines Day. Ten minutes, and she would have missed her chance. The window of opportunity was closing fast.

She had been angry with him at first. When he called to "apologize" a few months later, she'd been furious. Furious that he was too much of a coward to say those things to her face. She had honestly wanted to kill him for awhile.

And then reality set in. He was just another poor, lost soul whose desperate attempt to reach out to another human being had backfired more horribly than either of them could have imagined.

She didn't completely write off his attempt to murder her, but as time went on, she understood the twisted logic behind it. The truth is, he was more terrified of her than she was of him.

Which is why she began talking to the boy called Squee. Sure, at first it was just a casual greeting and a query about the inhabitant of house number 777. Then Devi began to see what Squee's home life was like. Her information-gathering mission turned into the semi-adoption of a paranoid school-child.

And then she started following them. He would take Squee out sometimes, drive him to school or to a restaurant for a decent meal. Devi knew he felt sorry for the boy. Somewhere in his twisted mind, he knew that Squee was just like him. And he didn't want Squee to turn into what he was.

11:55. Five minutes left. Devi ran a hand self-consciously through her hair. He glanced at her, his expression unreadable. It seemed as though she needed to make the first move.

"Nny, I—"

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, eyes downcast.

"What?"

Everything went quiet for a moment. Johnny glanced back up at her, something almost imperceptible changing in his eyes.

"I didn't want you to leave like the others," he continued, so quiet as to be nearly inaudible. "I didn't mean for it to end like that."

Devi could only stare at him in shock. Squee turned the volume down on the television, his large eyes fixed on the pair sitting on the couch.

11:57.

"It wasn't your fault. I had something beautiful…and my own fucking fears took over. I screwed up." He took a small breath. "I don't think I can fix it. I'm sorry."

11:59.

"Nny?"

"Yes?"

"Stop beating yourself up about this."

Thirty seconds left.

"What?"

"You heard me. I don't want you moping around like this."

"But I—"

"I don't care. I forgave you a long time ago." She turned to him and smiled.

Ten seconds.

"Besides, we only had one date. I think we should give it another shot before we say it's hopeless. What do you say?"

As the clock struck midnight, Johnny found it in him to answer.

"I think that would be a good idea."

Devi hugged him. "Great. Oh, and it looks like Squee's going to be spending the night here. His parents probably won't think to pick him up until next week. Where do you keep the blankets?"

_Sometimes, time has a way of slipping away from you. Things that seem like they happened yesterday turn out to be from years past, and opportunities fly by without so much as an acknowledgement that they ever existed in the first place. _

_Luckily, some of those opportunities are caught. Chances are taken. Time heals all wounds, and if the timing is perfect, once in awhile, one can atone for one's mistakes._

_-Nny_

_-----_

A/N: so there you have it. the final chapter. heh. hope you all had as much fun reading this as i did writing it. as i write these words, the clock is striking midnight. i guess i made my deadline in a weird way...

-raven


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